Blazing Home Run by Aaron Judge Sets Tone for Yankees

Image

Aaron Judge hitting a first-inning home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.CreditJim McIsaac/Getty Images

By Seth Berkman

June 10, 2017

Many things travel faster than a home run hit by Aaron Judge: fighter jets, for example, or supercars on the autobahn. But the solo homer that Judge sent over the left-field wall at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night was fast enough to at least make a Ferrari take notice.

Judge, the powerfully built 6-foot-7, 282-pound slugger, belted a record-setting homer in the first inning by turning a 92-mile-per-hour fastball from Baltimore starter Chris Tillman into a 121.1-m.p.h. rocket off his bat. That exit velocity made Judge’s homer the hardest-hit since Major League Baseball’s Statcast technology began tracking the statistic in 2015.

After Judge had spotted starter Luis Severino a 1-0 lead, the Yankees added runs at a breakneck pace. They tagged Tillman for six runs in the first inning and three more in the second as they raced to a 16-3 walloping of the Orioles.

“It’s incredible,” Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said of his team’s offensive outburst. “There’s a lot of power in this lineup. We can score quickly, and we can score in bunches.”

The Yankees pounded out 18 hits, with all nine starters getting at least one. Gary Sanchez went 3 for 4 with four runs batted in, Judge and Matt Holliday each went 3 for 4 with three runs scored and three R.B.I., and Starlin Castro drove in three runs by the time he was given the rest of the day off in the fifth inning. Five Yankees homered: Judge, Sanchez, Holliday, Castro and Didi Gregorius.

Image

Aaron Hicks sliding into third base on a fourth-inning single by Judge, who also walked and doubled.CreditFrank Franklin II/Associated Press

“There’s not a hole,” Judge said. “Up and down, even in the leadoff spot, you’ve got guys that can hit homers.”

Tillman recorded only four outs and was charged with nine earned runs, the most of his nine-year career. The Yankees’ hit parade paused only occasionally for Severino to mow down the Orioles lineup. He struck out eight over seven innings and allowed only two hits, including a solo homer by Chris Davis.

Severino was perfect through four innings, and it appeared as if no Oriole might mar his line. But he opened the fifth by missing with a 3-2 pitch to walk Mark Trumbo. After he struck out Davis, Trey Mancini singled to right field to break up Severino’s bid for a no-hitter. Davis finally put the Orioles on the board in the seventh, but by then the Yankees had a lead better measured in touchdowns.

Severino continues to shine after last year’s disappointing showing as a starter. In his past seven starts, he is 3-0 with a 1.90 earned run average.

“His stuff was really good tonight,” said Girardi, who called it “another outstanding performance.”

Before Severino was moved to the bullpen last September, he occasionally struggled the way Tillman did on Saturday.

Tillman opened the game with two quick outs before Judge blasted his 19th home run of the season. For his teammates, it was a sight to behold.

“I’m sure he can hit it to 122 or 123,” Sanchez said. “He has a lot of power.”

More than Sanchez?

“That home run I hit, I hit it pretty good, and I think it was 114,” Sanchez said. “I don’t think I can go beyond that.”

Holliday followed with a single, and Castro doubled to put two runners on. Sanchez floated a two-run single into left field and then scored on Gregorius’s homer. Chase Headley drew a walk, and Chris Carter drove him in with a single before Tillman got the final out of the first.

When Tillman next faced Judge, in the second inning, he avoided tossing any fastballs near the plate, issuing a walk on four pitches. His control problems continued; he walked Holliday on four pitches and fell behind Castro in the count, 3-0, before allowing a three-run homer. That prompted Orioles Manager Buck Showalter to call upon the bullpen, mercifully ending Tillman’s night.

The Yankees piled on with a three-run home run by Holliday in the fourth inning. Judge drove in his second and third runs of the night with a double in the fifth. Sanchez added a two-run homer three innings later.

As if 16 runs and 121.1 m.p.h. were not sufficiently gaudy numbers for the Yankees on Saturday night, there was one that was perhaps even more pleasant for fans to see. With the win, the Yankees moved 13 games over .500, their best mark of the season.

INSIDE PITCH

After throwing 18 pitches in a simulated game on Saturday, Aroldis Chapman is scheduled to pitch for Class A Tampa on Tuesday and Class AA Trenton on Friday before he rejoins the Yankees for the conclusion of their series next weekend in Oakland. Chapman has been on the disabled list since May 13 with inflammation in his left shoulder. … Jacoby Ellsbury, however, is unlikely to be with the Yankees on their West Coast trip, which begins Monday in Los Angeles. Joe Girardi said Ellsbury would instead head to Trenton to continue rehabbing as he attempts to return from a concussion. … Girardi announced that Chad Green would start Sunday’s series finale. After the game, the Yankees designated Tommy Layne for assignment and recalled Domingo German from Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page SP3 of the New York edition with the headline: With a Blazing Home Run by Judge, the Yankees’ Fireworks Begin. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe